Page 76 of Game Change

“You sly dog,” Heath says after sticking his head in my office. He practically skips to my desk, stands over it, and looks down at me. I check the time and grimace when I realize I still have three hours before I can leave.

“What?” I ask as I stare at one of the monitors on my desk.

“I didn’t think you preferred blondes. Remember when I met Esme? I thought she was more your type, but this one.” He wiggles his brows, puts his hands on his hips, and swivels them.

“Heath, can you get to the point? And why didn’t you bring me a coffee?” He waits until I become dependent on my afternoon caffeine and stops bringing it to me.

“There’s a Francesca in the lobby waiting for you.” I stand so abruptly that my chair slides and hits the wall behind me.

“Is Brynne still here?” I ask.

He waves me away and makes a face like he smells something foul. “Who cares? Didn’t you hear me? A beautiful woman is waiting for you out there.” He points at the door. “Can you ask her what conditioner she uses? Her hair looks amazing.”

I ignore my nephew and hightail it out of my office to do damage control. Brynne has a bit of a jealous streak, and I love that about her, but I don’t want to piss her off. I exhale in relief when there’s no sign of her in the hallway or by Ernestine’s cubicle. It’s possible she already left for the day, but she promised to come by my office before leaving.

Francesca stands by the front desk and sticks out like a sore thumb. When she sees me, she waves and bounces on her high-heeled boots.

“Rawr,” Heath purrs next to me, and that’s when I notice Francesca is in a long animal print wool coat. She’s even wearing a matching hat. I reach her and start to steer her toward the front door.

“Hey, stranger,” she says. “I’m here to see how you survived the storm.” She pulls out of my hands and leans in for a hug. I hear familiar voices and pull away, but Francesca grabs my hands.

“I’ll send you an email about that later,” I hear Brynne say, “and we’ll talk about the logistics of your promotion. I’ll schedule some time for us to sit down with Mr. Kincaid and—”

“You promoted that hag?” Heath asks. If he had a modicum of tact, he would have whispered it, but he didn’t. I ignore him and manage to yank my hands from Francesca’s, but she moves closer and threads her arm through mine. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before, but she’s like a damn boa constrictor.

Brynne and Ernestine make my line of vision as I’m trying to pull away from Francesca without success. Ernestine smirks, but Brynne stops walking and looks from me to my unwanted guest.

“Mr. Kincaid, it’s so good to see you,” Ernestine says, doing her best to be civil now that she’s gotten that promotion. She even smiles. Brynne doesn’t, though. She yanks on her coat and angrily buttons it. Her nostrils are flared when she raises her head and looks at me again.

“Who do we have here?” Brynne practically sneers.

“That’s Francesca,” Heath says, smiling so wide I can see all his teeth. “Mr. Kincaid, I’ll go make you a café au lait. I’ll make one for you too, Francesca.” He looks Ernestine and Brynne up and down before walking away without another word to them.

“Nonfat milk,” Francesca says to his retreating back.

Brynne eyes me one more time before she faces Ernestine. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she says to her. “And Mr. Kincaid, enjoy your coffee.” She walks away, but I hear her say, “Hopefully, you’ll choke on it.”

Chapter 39

Brynne

If my apartment wasn’t lacking in food, I would have gone straight home and worked there the rest of the day. Instead, I go to the store and get a cart full of food, including the ingredients I need for tonight’s dinner. A dinner that I’m no longer cooking.

“Fucking asshole,” I grumble to myself as I walk from the garage to the elevator. It opens instantly to the lobby, where I take another set of elevators to the third floor without stopping. I do my best to carry the grocery bags without falling on my face.

“Let me help,” I hear a deep voice say.

“How did you get in here?” I ask Colin. He takes the bags from me, and I punch the code to my apartment. “Tigerlilly must be lonely.”

He puts the bags down on the counter, pulls me into his arms, and kisses me senseless. I shove at his chest, but he holds me against him and kisses me until I relent and kiss him back.

“I’ve been chasing you for weeks. I don’t want her. I want you, and I’ve made that abundantly clear. I told her I’m seeing someone and for her not to return to my office.” He kisses me again. Then he breaks it and unbuttons my coat. “You made me rush here. I didn’t get a chance to go home and pack for the night.”

I ignore him and walk down the hall. He follows me into my bedroom. It’s not a huge space, but it’s nice and has great lighting. I sit on the bed and pull off my boots. I throw them into the open walk-in closet before I stomp in there to undress. When I’m in nothing but my bra and panties, he approaches me.

“Don’t even think about it,” I warn. I grab a pair of black yoga pants and a black shirt and put them on.

“But that’s all I think about.” He blocks my path out of the closet. “Come on, Honeybee, you know I only want you.”

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